On Facebook and Instagram, Political Ads Are Increasingly Critical of Data Centers
A Pew Research Center analysis finds that political advertising about data centers on Facebook and Instagram has become sharply more negative ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. From late July through October, advertisers spent nearly $12 million on such ads, with 57% opposing data centers and only 3% supporting them.
Pew Research Center analyzed U.S. political advertisements mentioning data centers that ran on Facebook and Instagram from Jan. 1 through Oct. 24, 2026. Spending on these ads rose substantially in the campaign season, reaching nearly $12 million during a 90-day period, while the share of ads critical of data centers increased from 31% in January to 57% in October.
The analysis found that opposition-focused ads commonly cited corporate and utility interests, while supportive ads more often emphasized jobs. Most recent spending was on advocacy-group advertisements rather than candidate campaigns, although data center ads targeting users in Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas each exceeded $1 million in spending. The research used data from Meta's Ad Library and other election and data center sources.